RE: Web Philosophy

[Gavin Thomas Nicol <gtn@ebt.com>]

> > FWIW. I will say that the DOM had *huge* conflicts as well, and
> > in retrospect, it amazes me that the DOM 1 specification came
> > out as well as it did. I think this is a tribute to Lauren Wood,
> > the chair, and to the people on the working group that were
> > willing to compromise enough for consensus, but not enough to
> > totally pollute it.
> 
> I think this pretty much sums it up -- the value of your contributions
> (whether you're on the WG or just a member of the public commenting on
> the mailing list) really depends on the social nature of the WG, its
> leaders, and its members. 

Quite. From what I've seen, most standards groups are open to
external influence *if* there is value. That goes for W3C, OASIS,
ISO and ANSI. That's why "invited expert" *is* viable.

Some groups are less open than others, as you note, but for the most
part people join because they are motivated by politics or
the desire to "do the right thing". I've seen more of the latter
than the former (though both play a role).